HKU Science: Junior Science Institute (JSI) 2020-21

報名期限: 2021-03-07

Junior Science Institute (JSI) was introduced by the Faculty in 2009. It offers fun-filled science workshops and science-rich experiences to scientifically inclined senior secondary school students. A series of hands-on learning programmes is designed  for students to expose to different science disciplines. Through a variety of inspiring workshops, laboratory exercises, field trips, lectures and other interactive activities, participants are able to embark on a journey of science exploration.

 

JSI WORKSHOPS OFFERED IN 2020-21 (2nd Semester)

Online JSI workshops offered in 2nd semester (Mar 13, 2021, Sat)

>> Application <<

Application deadline: March 7, 2021

Biological Sciences
GM_Plants

 JSI0002
Molecular Analysis of Genetically Modified (GM) Plants

 Teacher: Dr Clive LO, School of Biological Sciences
Level: F.4 – F.6

Genetically modified (GM) plants are successful examples of agricultural biotechnology. In this workshop, students will learn the concepts of GM plant production and debate their benefits and risks based on scientific arguments. They will also gain hands-on experience on the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect gene modifications in plant materials.

JSI0027
Evaluate your Meat

Teacher: Dr Jetty LEE & Dr Thomas Lam, School of Biological Sciences
Level: F.4 – F.5

How do you decide which package of meat and meat products to buy in a supermarket? You probably use your senses to determine the quality of meat. Attributes of meat quality include colour, juiciness, texture and flavour. In this workshop, students will learn how to apply instrumental analysis to assess the quality of meat through colour and texture. Students also will learn to compare how ‘real’ sausage differ in quality from commercial ones by making the sausage and evaluating the flavour, texture and colour.
health

JSI0056
Check your Health

Teacher: Dr Lu ZHANG, School of Biological Sciences
Level: F.4

Are you healthy or not? A balanced diet and exercise are important combination for a healthy body. With the increase of western diet such as burgers, pizzas and a variety of fast food, the health status of youth is declining and becoming a global problem. In this workshop, students will learn the use of simple physiological assessments to identify their health status. Students can self-check if they have healthy hearts or strong bones. From these measurements, students will learn to interpret and improve their health status.

JSI0071
To See DNA Crossing and Exchanging

Teacher: Dr Gary CHAN, School of Biological Sciences
Level: F.5

Sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) is the reciprocal exchange of genetic material between two identical sister chromatids. SCEs are produced when cells repair DNA damage. The frequency of SCE is highly elevated in cancer cells and cells derived from individuals with Bloom syndrome. In this workshop, students will conduct experiment to detect SCE in normal and Bloom syndrome cell lines.

Chemistry
matter

 JSI0047
What’s the “Matter”?

 Teacher: Dr Edmond LEUNG, Faculty of Science
Level: F.4 – F.5

Everything has to be made of some matter. Why is a particular matter or material used to make something functional? Why do different types of materials behave differently? In this workshop, students will explore the multidisciplinary field of materials science. Through hands-on activities, students will learn more about the structure-property relationships of materials and scientific methods to characterise materials.

JSI0072
Weighing Proteins Using Mass Spectrometry

Teacher: Dr Ivan Chu, Department of Chemistry
Level: F.6

The explosive growth of protemics parallels the advent of innovative techniques, such as electrospray ionisation (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionisation (MALDI) in mass spectrometry, culminating in the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry being awarded to Professor John fenn and Mr Koichi Tanaka. In this workshop, the concepts of biological mass spectrometry in peptide sequencing and ultimately protein identification will be discussed.

 JSI0079
Science, Technology and Humans

 Teacher: Dr Geogre AKOM, Faculty of Science
Level: F.4 – F.5

Understanding science is relevant not only to those pursuing careers in science fields because it enables us to understand how the natural world is organized, how it changes and how it interacts with the human-designed world.

In this activity, we will examine a common compound (chemical) and try to understand how the science behind a reaction (behaviour) of this compound can be applied to affect our lives in a dramatic way.

Mathematics

JSI0064
Calculus: Why Should We Care?

Teacher: Dr Alex SHUM, Faculty of Science
Level: F.5 – F.6

Calculus is a subject that many students have to take (and dread!) in secondary school, but why we learn it is rarely ever discussed. From radio waves to modelling how diseases spread, calculus has significantly affected scientific understanding and applications throughout our recent history. We’ll take a look at understanding some calculus concepts from a basic level and discuss why it has been crucial in the development of humankind.

Remarks: Students without prior calculus knowledge can also join the workshop1

JSI0077
Proof of the Four-Color Conjecture

Teacher: Professor Wenan ZANG, Department of Mathematics
Level: F.4 – F.6

The famous four-color conjecture made by Guthrie in 1852 states that every plane map can be colored using four colors so that no two adjacent regions have the same color. In this talk we shall give you a brief introduction to  his conjecture and a computer-assisted proof obtained by Appel and Haken in 1976.

Physics

JSI0059
The Wonderful World of the Quantum

Teacher: Dr Shizhong ZHANG, Department of Physics
Level: F.4 – F.6

This workshop will showcase a few extraordinary macroscopic phenomena of quantum origin, in particular the effects associated with superfluidity and superconductivity.

JSI0082
The Two-sphere Model of the Universe

Teacher: Dr Timothy WOTHERSPOON, Faculty of Science
Level: F.4 – F.6

Early astronomers imagined the Earth as the unmoving, fixed center of the Universe. This may seem silly to modern people, but the long-standing popularity of this model is due to its tremendous success despite its simplicity. We will use a smartphone app simulating the Armillary Sphere, a practical device based on the two-sphere model to explore its usefulness.

Statistics and Actuarial Science
stat2

JSI0024
Probabilities and Statistics in Daily Life

Teacher: Dr Wentao LI, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science
Level: F.4 – F.6

This workshop will introduce and explain some basic concepts of probability and statistics and their applications using some simple interesting examples. Examples are:

  1. How to choose the “best” boyfriend or girlfriend?
  2. Is there any sure-win strategy in the finance world?
  3. How to prove the existence of God indirectly with probability and statistics?
  4. Do you believe in fate? Can your fate be predicted by palm-reading or facial reading?

The workshop will be with illustrated through some experiments and games.